9 (plus 1) pocket-friendly holiday activities under $50

Yey!!! The holidays are upon us again! It’s coming up next week. If you are, like me, looking for some wallet-friendly ways to entertain the kids, and letting them learn something at the same time, I’ve got recommendations for 9 non-academic holiday activities.

Nature Exploration @ Singapore Botanic Gardens

This is our long-time favourite. Holiday activities range from 1-hour storytelling sessions, tours or craft & drama sessions costing just $6 per child, to 4-hour ‘Celebrating WildLife’ workshops at $50 per child. This holiday, kids attending the these workshops can learn about freshwater streams & ponds, birds of the night and creepy crawlies. 

And if the kids are not tired after the sessions, and you want to do something more exciting, have a little picnic by the Swan Lake where the kids can run amok, or head to Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden. Find out more or register here. 

Science Fun @ Lollipops

Another of our favourites, and we always keep an eye on what they have to offer. For December, kids can learn about life sciences and be ‘Little Doctors’, learn about the science in cooking while making lollipops and edible glass, or learn all about dinosaurs in three sessions. The classes are conducted at various community centres across the island, and prices range between $38 and $50. The 3-day Dinosaur workshop costs between $114 and $130. Members enjoy the cheaper rates. Suitable for kids aged 5 to 10 years old.

Find out more about Lollipops activities here.

Or head to the OnePA site and search for ‘Lollipops’.

Explore Science @ EJ Creators

There are more cost effective courses through the OnePA site, like the ones by EJ Creators. They are holding three types of courses - Amazing Fun to learn about robotics and logical thinking, Eco Kids to learn about to learn about the environment and recycling, and The Fairy Lamp to learn about electronics and have some hands-on experience with light bulbs, batteries and circuits. Prices range between $18 and $23. Suitable for kids aged 5 to 8. Find out more by heading to the OnePA site and searching for ‘EJ Creators’.

Explore STEM @ Bricks 4 Kidz

Some of you might be familiar with Bricks 4 Kidz, which is located at Safra Toa Payoh and Turf City, and focuses on imparting engineering, mechanics and architecture knowledge using LEGO and DUPLO bricks. Holiday workshops at their Toa Payoh branch ranges between $190 and $580. This holiday, however, the folks at Bricks 4 Kidz are bringing two holiday programmes to community centres. These are Despicable Brick Minions, during which kids will create their own minion story with mosaics, create their favourite 3D characters and motorized models. The other workshop is Interesting Inventions, where kids will learn the difference between an invention and a discovery, learn how inventions solve problems, find out how inventors get their ideas patented and even be challenged to invent something or improve something to solve a problem. Prices range between $35 and $58, and the workshops are suitable for kids aged between 5 to 10 years old. Find out more by heading to the OnePA site and searching for ‘Bricks 4 Kidz’.

Science Exploration @ KidsSTOP

Some nice activities here about chemistry, environment and physics. The chemistry workshop looks quite interesting, as the kids will also get to make their own bath salts, while honing their inquiry and investigation skills. Even more intriguing is the physics workshop called Spring Fling Junior. Kids get to play with springs and rubber bands and attempt to make their own toys out of these basic materials. Prices are at $45 for each 2.5-hr workshop, and there are different sessions for different age groups, ranging between 4 and 8 years. Find out more about KidsSTOP activities here.

Chinese art exploration @ InnoArt

Both my kids have been going for holiday art classes elsewhere, and this time, I thought it would be nice if I infuse a little Chinese culture into their holiday programme. What I like about the programme at InnoArt is its flexibility. Kids can sign up for half-day sessions, or even 5-day sessions. Or kids can mix and match several half-day sessions to be exposed to different art forms. Just tell the folks which day or days your kids will be joining. Half day (am) is from 10-12pm and costs $50, while half day (pm) is from 1.30-5.30pm and costs $90. There are different classes for ages 4 to 8 years and 8 to 16 years. Find out more about InnoArt activities here.

Craft and bake @ Spur Box

How about an all-in-one storytime, baking and crafting session, for just $40? The folks at Spur Box have created several Christmas themed Junior Gourmet session where kids between the ages of 2 and 12 years old can listen to stories, bake and craft. Some of these include the Cocoa Logcake session, where kids can listen to the story of The Little Christmas Elf, bake a chocolate log cake and craft and elf key chain. Those who head to the Snowman Cakepops session will listen to the tale of Frosty the Snowman, make cake pops and a snowman craft. Find out more about Spurbox activities here.

Sports activities @ ActiveSG

Want to expose the kids to a plethora of sports activities? ActiveSG has a range of sporting activities such as aquatics, archery, snorkelling, kayaking and ultimate frisbee. There’s even an opportunity to get behind the scenes and find out all about the operation of a public swimming pool and the job of a life guard.

And if you are a Singapore citizen or permanent resident, as well as an ActiveSG member, you can use ActiveSG dollars to offset up to 30% of the programme fees. Find out more about ActiveSG activities here. 

Bouncing Fun @ Beary Fun Gym

Get more trampoline fun and brush those trampoline skills with a 2-hour guided programme at Beary Fun Gym’s Changi outlet. For $30 per session, kids 4 to 10 years old get 1 hour guidance on those jumping skills, and 1 hour of free play. If you prefer for your kids to have better gymnastics skills, then the Bukit Batok branch has a similar 2-hour guided programme which focuses on fitness circuits, parachute games and manipulative games, for just $30 per session. Find out more about Beary Fun Gym activities here. Or check out Beary Fun Gym’s Facebook page.

Speech & Drama @ Magic Moments

So far, many speech & drama holiday courses that I’ve come across cost at least a couple hundred dollars. Imagine my surprise when I found something that cost just $100 for a 3-hour programme over 4 days! Ok, granted, that isn’t exactly less than $50, as this post’s title says. However, if you do the calculation, the average price per day is only about $25. I think that’s extremely economical. This holiday programme is conducted in both English and Mandarin, across several community centres and is suitable for kids aged 4 to 8 years old. Find out more by heading to the OnePA site and searching for ‘Magic Moments’.

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